Method for mounting a faucet on a paper container and apparatus therefor

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method for mounting a faucet on a paper container which is used as a container for milk or the like. That is, the method comprises the steps of heating the adhesive portions of the paper container coated with a thermoplastic resin and the faucet made of a synthetic resin, and pressing both the adhesive portions against each other in the heated condition to cause them to adhere to each other. An apparatus for carrying out this method is provided with retaining mechanisms which hold the paper container and the faucet, respectively, and a heater for heating the paper container and the faucet that are held in the respective mechanisms, whereby, after the heating by the heater, the paper container and the faucet are caused to approach together and are pressed against each other.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method for mounting a faucet on apaper container and apparatus therefor, which container has recentlybeen used widely as a container for milk, juice, liquor, or the like.The faucet serves to pour out the contents in the container.

BACKGROUND ART

Paper containers have heretofore been used for packing milk and juices,and recently, even for liquors, and their uses are extending now. Whenthe contents in a paper container are poured out, it is necessary topeel or cut the bonded portion of the paper container. Therefore, theopening operation of a paper container is rather difficult andtroublesome, and the pouring out of the contents is not easy. Inaddition, it is almost impossible to maintain its sealing effect afterthe container is opened. Thus, it is required, from the viewpoints ofhygiene and preservation, to improve the containers of this type.

In order to eliminate these disadvantages of the paper containers andtaking the facts into consideration that the paper containers can befitted with faucets and the surfaces of them are coated with athermoplastic resin film to improve waterproofness, the presentinvention intends to provide a method and apparatus for fixing a faucetmade of synthetic resin to the thermoplastic resin coating, therebyimproving the easy-opening property and maintaining the sealing propertyafter a paper container is opened.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention is characterized in that a predetermined portionof a paper container, where a faucet is to be mounted, and the end faceof a faucet made of a synthetic resin are heated and the heated areasare pressed against each other for adhesion. The adhesion of thesynthetic resin faucet to the paper container is accomplished byutilizing the property of the thermoplastic resin coating on the papercontainer which becomes soft and molten by heating.

The thermoplastic resin film on the paper container may be of any typematerial. However, polyethylene resins have usually been used, and otherpolypropylenes, modified polyesters, waxes, and the like may also beused.

Further, as synthetic resin for faucets, any resin which is excellent inadhesion to the thermoplastic resin coating on paper container can beused. For example, polyethylenes, polypropylenes and modified polyestersare used. If desired, an adhesive can be used between the container andthe faucet.

Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that a papercontainer retaining mechanism to hold a paper container and a faucetretaining mechanism to hold a faucet are provided and the papercontainer and the faucet are heated at adhesive portions thereof by aheater while they are held by the respective retaining mechanisms. Thesemechanisms are caused to approach to each other and then the papercontainer and the faucet are pressed together to accomplish the adhesionof them.

The paper containers which are widely used are of an upright rectangularparallelepiped and the top portion of which comprises slant surfaces onboth upper sides. When it is intended to a mount a faucet for pouringout the contents on a paper container, its mounting position isnaturally set to one of the slant surfaces. However, when the papercontainer having such a shape is stood upright and the slant surface tobe applied with a faucet is heated, unevenness of heating is caused tooccur between the upper portion and the lower portion of the slantsurface because the lower portion of the slant surface is in contactwith the liquid contents or the lower portion is quite near to theliquid surface. Therefore, complete adhesion of the faucet cannot beattained.

Accordingly, in the present invention, the paper container is providedwith slant surfaces in its upper portion and a faucet is mounted on thisslant surface. The paper container is so inclined that the above slantsurface becomes horizontal and the distance between the slant surfaceand the liquid level of the contents is made even. In this state, theportion of the slant surface to be applied with a faucet is heated by aheater, thereby attaining uniform heating.

Further, according to the present invention, a heating element forheating a paper container is disposed on one side of the heater body andanother heating element for heating a faucet is disposed on the otherside thereof. Thus, the paper container and the faucet are heated underdifferent conditions by using the single heater body, that is, underoptimum conditions in compliance with the materials of the papercontainer and the faucet.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, a heater is disposed ona relative locus of a faucet and a paper container on which they arebrought into contact with each other. The faucet and paper container areheated by this heater. After heating, the heater is removed from therelative locus and the faucet and the paper container are promptlypressed against each other to adhere to each other.

With regard to the shape of a faucet, it is preferred that a cutout fortaking air is provided in an opening tube portion in order to permit thecontents in a paper container to pour out. In the case of using such afaucet, it is necessary that the faucet is so mounted on the papercontainer that the cutout may be positioned on the upper side during thepouring operation. Therefore, the present invention is characterized bythe provision of a means capable of orienting the faucet in a desireddirection when the faucet is fed to a faucet retaining mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a paper container and a faucetwhich are to be joined to each other;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the faucet;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line IV--IV of FIG.3;

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views taken along the lines V--V,VI--VI and VII--VII of FIG. 4, respectively;

FIG. 8 is a vertical-sectional view taken along the line VIII--VIII ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 9 (a), (b) and (c) are schematic plan views showing differentstates of operations of the main part of a positioning mechanism shownin FIGS. 4 to 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of the main part in FIG. 3;

FIG. 11 is a vertical-sectional view taken along the line XI--XI of FIG.10;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged vertical-sectional view taken along the lineXII--XII of FIG. 3;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the main part in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a front view of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a plan view of FIG. 13;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are cross-sectional views taken along the lines XVI--XVIand XVII--XVII of FIG. 13, respectively;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XVIII--XVIII ofFIG. 12;

FIG. 19 is an enlarged vertical-sectional view showing the state ofheating the paper container and the faucet by means of a heater;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX--XX of FIG.19; and

FIG. 21 is a plan view of the heater.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The present invention will be explained in accordance with anillustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a papercontainer (A) and a faucet (B) which are to be bonded to each other bymeans of an apparatus according to the present invention. The papercontainer (A) has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped on the wholeand it has slant surfaces (1) on the top thereof. An opening (2) isbored in a slant surface (1). The illustrated paper container (A) is notdifferent from a conventional well-known one except the opening (2).While, the faucet (B) is composed of a spout member (3) and a cap member(4), and the spout member (3) comprises a tube portion (6) provided witha cutout (5) on one side thereof and a flange-like adhesive portion (7)which is formed at the end of the tube portion (6) and is to be fixed tothe above-mentioned paper container (A). The cap member (4) is made inthe form of a cylinder having a closed end. The thus formed cap memberwill be fitted to the tube portion (6) to seal up the opening of thetube portion (6) and the cutout (5), thus the paper container (A) can beclosed.

The paper container (A) and the faucet (B) are caused to adhere to eachother by heating the periphery of the opening (2) of the paper container(A) and the end face of the faucet (B) and pressing them to each otherby the apparatus of the present invention, while the cap member (4) isfitted to the spout member (3). In this case, it is necessary that thefaucet (B) is fixed to the paper container (A) with orienting the cutout(5) upward. In order to determine the direction of the faucet (B), lugs(7a) and (7a') are formed on both sides of the cutout (5) and on theperiphery of the circular adhesive portion (7), so as to make the latteralmost D-shape. The thus formed adhesive portion (7) has the contourdesirable to determine the direction of the cutout (5).

The embodiment of the apparatus suitable for the adhesion of the papercontainer (A) and the faucet (B) according to the present invention willbe described with reference to FIG. 3 and succeeding drawings. FIG. 3 isthe schematic plan view of the apparatus according to the presentinvention, and in this drawing, the paper containers (A) arecontinuously fed by a feed conveyor (11) and are stopped by a stationarystopper (12) which is disposed at the front end of the feed conveyor(11). In front of the stationary stopper (12), an L-shaped push member(13) is disposed, and is moved back and forth in the direction crossingthe feed conveyor (11) at right angles by means of a cylinder device(14). The push member (13) has a push portion for transversely pushingthe paper container (A) which is stopped in contact with the stationarystopper (12) and a stopper portion for stopping the next papercontainer. In other words, the work of the push member (13) is totransversely push out the paper containers (A) one by one with the aidof the cylinder device (14).

On the side where the paper container (A) is pushed out, there isdisposed a chain (17) in parallel with the feed conveyor (11), with thechain being stretched between a pair of sprocket wheels (15) and (16).The chain (17) is provided with engaging chips (18) at predeterminedintervals. The cylinder device (14) pushes out each paper container (A)one by one to each region between one and the next engaging chips (18)that are continuously moved by the chain (17), whereby each interval ofthe spaces between the engaging chips (18) is set between adjacent papercontainers (A).

In front of the chain (17) for carrying the paper containers (A), a starwheel (19) is disposed. It rotates synchronously with the chain (17) andis provided with pockets (20) formed at regular intervals on theperiphery thereof and vacuum cups, not shown, disposed in the respectivepockets, for attracting the paper containers (A) by suction, and astationary guide (21) disposed along the outer periphery thereof. Thestar wheel (19) feeds the paper containers (A) to a carriage or rotator(22), mentioned below, with the aid of the above-mentioned members.

Further, the faucets (B) to be mounted on the paper containers (A) areconveyed through a chute (23) to a positioning mechanism (24) fororienting the faucets (B) to a predetermined direction, and those whichwere oriented by the mechanism (24) are fed to the rotator (22) throughfaucet conveying discs (25) and (26) (see FIG. 10). FIGS. 4 to 8 showthe positioning mechanism (24), which includes a vertical drive shaft(28) rotatably fixed to a frame (27) and a rotary table (29) mounted onthe drive shaft (28). The rotary table (29) is provided with rotarystages (30) to receive the respective faucets (B) thereon, at regularintervals of 90° on its periphery. The vertical shaft of each rotarystage (30) is rotatably supported by a plain bearing (31) and a rollerbearing (32). The plain bearing (31) is supported by a cylindricalbracket (33) surrounding it and a screw (34) which secures the bracket(33) to the rotary table (29). The roller bearing (32) is supported by aring-like supporting plate (35) disposed around the drive shaft (28) anda coupling member, not shown, which secures the supporting plate (35) tothe rotary table (29) at a middle position of each rotary stage (30).

In the shaft portion of each rotary stage (30), there is a verticallyslidable lift rod (36), which rod has a conical centering member (37) onthe top for centering the faucet (B). The diameter of the centeringmember (37) is equal to the inner diameter of the tube portion (6) ofthe faucet (B). The lower end of the lift rod (36) extends downwardsthrough the shaft portion of the rotary stage (30). A horizontal bracket(38) is fixed to the projected end and a cam follower (39) is rotatablymounted on the bracket (38). The ring-like supporting plate (35) isprovided with a rotation preventing member (40) on the under surfacethereof. The rotation preventing member (40) is movably supporting thebracket (38) on both the sides thereof to prevent the lift rod (36) fromrotation. The lift rod (36) lies generally at the lowermost position byits own weight. At this time, the upper surfaces of the centering member(37), the rotary stage (30) and the rotary table (29) are substantiallyon the same level. In the movement of the cam follower (39) at aposition near the front end of the foregoing chute (23), the camfollower (39) is moved upwards by a cam plate (41) that is fixed to themachine frame (27). With this movement, the centering member (37) islifted by means of the bracket (38) and the lift rod (36).

The front end of the chute (23) ascends in a tangential direction from apoint of the rotary orbit of the centering member (37), (FIG. 8). Thefaucets (B) are continually fed to the front end of the chute by theirown weight with both sides of the adhesive portion (7) of each faucet(B) being supported by the chute (23). The front end of the chute isprovided with an engaging pawl which comprises a spring (not shown). Thefaucet (B) is stopped by engaging with the engaging pawl at the frontend of the chute (23), whereby the faucets (B) are prevented fromdropping off the chute (23) by their own weight. When approaching thefront end of the chute (23) through the rotation of the rotary table(29), the centering member (37) is lifted by the cam of the cam plate(41) and it is laid in a condition to engage with the faucet (B), whichfaucet is stopped at the front end of the chute (23), as shown in FIG.8. When the centering member (37) engages with the faucet (B), thelatter is drawn out of the chute (23) against the action of the engagingpawl spring and is put on the rotary stage (30), and the centering ofthe faucet (B) is simultaneously accomplished by the centering member(37) having the conical head. After the centering member (37) has drawnout of the faucet (B), a next faucet (B) advances downwards by its ownweight and is stopped by the engaging pawl. The faucet (B) at this pointis in a condition capable of being drawn out by means of a nextcentering member (37).

The faucet (B), which has been drawn out of the chute (23) by thecentering member (37) and put on the rotary stage (30), is then pressedagainst the rotary stage (30) by the press member (42). The press member(42) is vertically movably mounted an a movable frame (43) above each offour rotary stages (30). The bottom surface ot each press member (42) isprovided with a conical guide recess (44), which ensures the centeringof the faucet (B) in cooperation with the centering member (37) at thetime of pressing the faucet (B). The top of each press member (42) isprovided with a fastening member (45) and a spring (46) is arrangedbetween the press member (42) and a movable frame (43). Thus, the pressmember (42) is pressed downwards by the action of the spring (46).

Each movable frame (43) can be moved vertically along two parallel guiderods (47) and (48) (see FIG. 6). A spring (50) is disposed between themovable frame (43) and a disc (49) associated with the guide rods (47),(48) so as to apply upward spring force to the movable frame (43). A camfollower (51) is rotatably fitted to each movable frame (43) and it iscaused to engage, by the spring (50), with a cam member (52) that isfixed to the frame (27) above the locus of the cam follower (51).

The movable frame (43), when passing through the front end of the chute(23), is raised in accordance with the cam profile of the cam member(52) in order to avoid the interference with the chute (23). When thereis not any possibility of such an interference at the front end of thechute (23), the movable frame (43) is moved down against the action ofthe spring (50) by the cam member (52). Together with this descent ofthe movable frame (43), the press member (42) is also moved down and itis brought into engagement with the top of the faucet (B) which has beendrawn out of the chute (23) onto the rotary stage (30). After theengagement of the press member (42) with the faucet (B), the movableframe (43) is further moved down by the cam member (52) by apredetermined distance. Thus, the faucet (B) is caught between therotary stage (30) and the press member (42) by the spring action of thespring (46). At this time, the centering of the faucet (B) is attainedby the guide recess (44) of the press member (42) and theabove-mentioned centering member (37). After the completion of thecentering operation, the centering member (37) is moved down by thefunction of the cam plate (41) and its own weight until the uppersurface of the centering member (37) substantially reaches the uppersurfaces of the rotary stage (30) and the rotary table (29).

Next, the faucet (B) is rotated with the rotation of the rotary stage(30) while it is supported between the rotary stage (30) and the pressmember (42). In order to rotate each rotary stage (30), a friction disc(53) is integrally fixed to the rotary stage (30), and a friction camplate (54) is fixed to the frame (27), which friction cam plate (54) isbrought into contact with the outer periphery of the friction disc (53)over a predetermined angle range around the drive shaft (28), as shownin FIG. 7. In the case of the illustrated embodiment, the cam plate (54)spreads an angle range more than 180° and the diameter of the frictiondisc (53) is made such that the friction disc (53) and the rotary stage(30) are rotated approximately twice.

Furthermore, simultaneously with the rotation of the faucet (B), theengaging pawl (55) is brought into engagement with the outer peripheryof the adhesive portion (7) of the faucet (B), and when the faucet (B)is oriented to a predetermined direction, the engaging pawl (55) engageswith the lug (7a) of the adhesive portion (7) to block a furtherrotation of the faucet (B), thereby setting the orientation of thefaucet (B). Each of the four pawls (55) is rotatably mounted on the axis(56) inside the rotary stage (30) so that each pawl (55) may be rotatedrelative to the rotary table (29). The lower end of each axis (56) isprovided with a pinion (57) and the pinion is in turn engaged with asector gear (58), as shown in FIG. 5. Of the two parallel guide rods(47) and (48) mentioned above, one guide rod (48) has the lower end thatis projected downward through the rotary table (29) and the sector gear(58) is rotatably mounted on the foregoing projected end. A cam follower(59) is rotatably fitted to each sector gear (58) on the bottom surfacethereof and is engaged by a spring (61) with the cam profile of the camplate (60) which is secured to the frame (27). Although FIG. 5 showsonly one spring (61), the other springs (61) are also provided betweenthe sector gears (58) and the rotary table (29), and each spring actionof them permits the cam follower (59) to elastically engage with the camface of the cam plate (60).

Each sector gear (58) having the cam follower (59) is moved inaccordance with the profile of the cam plate (60) around the guide rod(48) as a fulcrum. When the sector gear (58) is moved, the engaging pawl(55) is moved by means of the pinion (57) and the axis (56) gearing withthe sector gear (58). When passing the front portion of the chute (23),each engaging pawl (55) is moved apart from the rotary stage (30) toavoid the interference with the front portion thereof. Each faucet (B)which passes the front end of the chute (23) is caught between therotary stage (30) and the press member (42) by the action of the spring(46), where the engaging pawl (55) is brought into engagement with theadhesive portion (7) of the faucet (B) by the cam plate (60) and thespring (61). Almost simultaneously therewith, the friction cam plate(54) is brought into contact with the circumference of friction disc(53) that is integral with the rotary stage (30). By the frictionalforce between them, the friction disc (58) together with the rotarystage (30), the faucet (B) and the press member (42) are rotated.

The portion of the engaging pawl (55) to be brought into contact witheach faucet (B), comprises an oblong plate region having an engagingrecess (62) corresponding to the shape of one lug (7a) of the adhesiveportion (7) and the succeeding circular portion as particularly shown inFIG. 9 (c). The front portion of the engaging recess (62) comprises astopper portion (62a) for stopping the rotation of the faucet (B) byengaging with the lug (7a) and the rear portion of the engaging recess(62) comprises an escape portion (62b) for preventing the other lug(7a') from engaging with the stopper portion (62a). That is to say, asshown in FIG. 9 (a), when the faucet (B) is rotated and the other lug(7a') approaches the stopper portion (62a), the other lug (7a) isbrought into contact with the escape portion (62b) and the engaging pawl(55) is rotated clockwise in FIG. 9 (a) in order to prevent the otherlug (7a') from engaging with the stopper portion (62a). Then, the lugs(7a') and (7a) pass the stopper portion (62a) and the escape portion(62b), respectively (FIG. 9 (b)), and the faucet (B) is further rotated,whereupon the one lug (7a) is caused to engage with the stopper portion(62a) to stop further rotation of the faucet (B).

Such an engagement between the lug (7a) and the stopper portion (62a),that is, the setting of the orientation of the faucet (B) is carried outduring the only one rotation of the faucet (B). In the case of theillustrated embodiment, both the lugs (7a) and (7a') of each faucet (B)are arranged in a condition that they are outwardly oriented in theradial direction of the rotary table (29). As each faucet (B) is forcedto stop its rotation by the engaging pawl (55) in the course of theintegral rotation of the rotary stage (30) and the faucet (B) asdescribed above, the faucet (B) is merely pressed against the rotarystage (30) by the spring (46), therefore the rotary stage (30) alone isstill rotated with slippage that is easily caused to occur between thefaucet (B) and the rotary stage (30).

Each of the thus oriented faucets (B) is delivered to the succeedingfaucet conveying disc (25) at a position where it is rotated about 3/4from the front end of the chute (23). As shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 10,cutout portions (63) are formed at five positions equally spaced alongthe outer periphery of the disc (25) and each of them are adapted toreceive a pair of lugs (7a) and (7a') of the faucet (B) which areoutwardly directed on the rotary table (29). Further, a pair of guides(64) and (65) for guiding each cap member (4) of the faucet (B) extendsbetween the position where the faucet (B) is delivered from the rotarytable (29) to the disc (25) and the position where it is delivered fromthe disc (25) to a downstream disc (26). A delivery plate (66) forsupporting the bottom of the faucet (B) is disposed between the discs(25) and (26) and under the guides (64) and (65).

When each faucet (B) which has been positioned on the rotary stage (30)approaches the position for the delivery of the faucet (B) to the disc(25), the engaging pawl (55) is separated from the outer periphery ofthe adhesive portion (7) of the faucet (B) by means of the cam plate(60) because the contact between the friction disc (53) and the frictioncam plate (54) has already been released and thus the rotation of therotary stage (30) has been stopped. Since the engaging pawl (55) isdisposed at a position lower than the pair of guides (64) and (65) forguiding the cap member (4), the engaging pawl (55) can be moved back tothe position where it does not interfere with the front end of the chute(23) without any interference with the guides (64) and (65). Each faucet(B) released from the engaging pawl (55) is immediately caused to engagewith the cutout of the disc (25) to stop its free rotation. The movableframe (43) is simultaneously lifted by the cam member (52) and thespring (50), so that the pressure of the faucet (B) by the press member(42) is released. Subsequently, the press member (42) is moved up to theposition where it does not interfere with the front end of the chute(23).

Meanwhile, each faucet (B) engaging with the cutout (63) of the disc(25) is guided by the guides (64) and (65) from the rotary stage (30)through the rotary table (29) and the delivery plate (66) to the nextfaucet forwarding disc (26). This disc (26) has a plurality of faucetreceiving members (67) which are spaced at regular intervals on theupper surface of the outer periphery. Each faucet receiving member (67)is, as shown in FIG. 11, movably fitted to the upper surface of the disc(26) by a pair of pins (68) and is usually maintained at the upperposition by the action of a spring (69). Each faucet receiving member(67) is provided with an engaging hole (70) having the same shape as theadhesive portion (7) of the faucet (B), and each hole (70) is formed soas to receive the adhesive portions (7) when both the lugs (7a) and(7a') are directed toward the outer side of the rotary plate (26). Thedisc (26) is provided with a supporting rest (71) which moves within theengaging hole (70) by the vertical movement of the faucet receivingmember (67). The height of this supporting rest (71) is such that itssurface forms a substantially flat plane with the surface of the faucetreceiving member (67) when the latter lies at its lower position.Further, the upper face of each faucet receiving member (67) is providedwith a cam follower (72) and each of stationary frames (73) is fixedwith a cam member (74) which is caused to engage with the cam follower(72). The cam member (74) pushes down the faucet receiving member (67)against the spring (69). This cam member (74) is formed near thefollowing position (P) (see FIG. 10) for delivering the faucet to afaucet retaining mechanism that is disposed on the rotator (22).

The faucet receiving member (67) is so arranged that its surface may lieon the same level as the surface of the delivery plate (66) when it isat an upper position. Therefore, each faucet (B), which is slid on thedelivery plate (66) with the aid of the cutout portion (63) and a pairof guides (64) and (65), is slipped on the surface of the faucetreceiving member (67) and dropped into the engaging hole (70). Thefaucet (B) cannot freely rotate in this state and it is transferred bythe disc (26) with directing its lugs (7a), (7a') outwards. When thefaucet (B) approaches the delivery position (P) to the following rotator(22), the faucet receiving member (67) is moved down by the cam member(74), so that the upper surface of the supporting rest (71) forsupporting the faucet (B) is set on the same level as the faucetreceiving member (67). Each faucet (B) on the supporting rest (71) isthen held and smoothly forwarded by the faucet retaining mechanism,referred to below, of the rotator (22).

As shown in FIG. 3, the disc (26) for feeding the faucets (B) to therotator (22) is disposed on and integrally with the star wheel (19) forfeeding the paper containers (A) to the rotator (22). The faucetreceiving members (67) of the disc (26) are made to coincide with thenumber and positions of the pockets (20) of the star wheel (19), therebythe paper containers (A) and the faucets (B) above the containers beingfed to the rotator (22) almost simultaneously.

FIG. 12 shows the sectional view of the rotator (22) taken along theline XII--XII of FIG. 3. The rotator (22) includes three rotary discs(81), (82) and (83) which are rotatably mounted on the verticalstationary shaft (80). These rotary discs (81), (82) and (83) areintegrally connected to one another. As will be understood from FIGS. 3and 12, the lower rotary disc (81) is provided on the outer peripherythereof with nine paper container retaining mechanism (84) at regularintervals while two upper discs (82) and (83) are provided withvertically movable faucet retaining mechanisms (85) at the positionsright above the respective paper container retaining mechanism (84).Operating rods (87) having a heater (86) at their lower ends are mountedin the middle of the adjacent faucet retaining mechanisms (85). The rod(87) is rotatable and vertically movable.

The paper container retaining mechanism (84) receives the papercontainer (A) from the star wheel (19) in the vertical state to retainit by means of retaining pawls so as not to fall therefrom. Theretaining mechanism (84) inclines the paper container (A) to makehorizontal the slant surface (1) having the opening (2). The faucetretaining mechanism (85) receives the faucet (B) at the faucetdelivering position (P) from the disc (26) that is disposed on the starwheel (19). The thus received faucet (B) is placed just above thehorizontally arranged opening (2) of the slant surface (1). Each of theheaters (86) is connected to the operating rod (87) by an arm (88) in acondition being biased from the axis of the rod. When the faucet (B)vertically confronts the opening (2) of the paper container (A), theheater (86) is inserted in the space between the faucet (B) and thepaper container (A) by the rotation of the operating rod (87). Thespaces between the slant surface (1) of the paper container (A) and thelower surface of the heater (86) and between the upper surface of theheater (86) and the adhesive portion (7) of the faucet (B) are thenreduced. As a result, the slant surface (1) and the adhesive portion (7)are heated by the heater (86).

After completion of the heating operation by the heater (86), theabove-mentioned spaces between the heater (86) and the paper container(A) as well as the faucet (B) are enlarged. The heater (86) is thenremoved out of the space between the faucet (B) and the paper container(A). In the next step, the faucet retaining mechanism (85) is moved downand the adhesive portion (7) of the faucet (B) is pressed for adhesionagainst the slant surface (1) of the paper container (A). After thefaucet (B) was attached to the paper container (A), the faucet retainingmechanism (85) releases the faucet (B) and moves upward. On the otherhand, the paper container retaining mechanism (84) returns to theupright state and releases the grasp of the paper container (A) by thepawl. The thus released paper containers are each discharged out of therotator (22) by means of a star wheel (89) on the discharge side whichis formed similarly to the star wheel (19) on the feed side. Then, theyare shifted to the next step by a conveyor (90).

FIGS. 13 to 17 show a practical constitution of the paper containerretaining mechanism (84). As will be understood from the plan view ofFIG. 15, the rotary disc (81) is provided on the outer periphery thereofwith an approximately trapezoidal cutout (91). A pair of brackets (92)is secured to opposite portions on the cutout (91). Between this pair ofbrackets (92), a main body (93) having a U-shaped section is swingablysupported by pins (94). This main body (93) is provided at oppositecorners thereof with cutouts (95) for the purpose of avoidinginterference with the trapezoidal cutout (91).

A plate (96) is secured on the bottom surface of the main body (93). Theplate (96) is provided on the bottom thereof with a plate (98) suitablyspaced by interposing spacers (97). The plate (98) is provided on thebottom thereof with a supporting plate (99) for supporting the papercontainer (A). The supporting plate (99) has such a shape as to closethe lower end surface of the main body (93) having a U-shaped sectionand it supports the bottom of the paper container (A) that is led intothe main body (93). The two plates (96) and (98) on the supporting plate(99) have cutouts (100) and (101), the shapes of which are about thesame as the inner shape of the main body (93) so as not to obstruct thereceived container (A).

A vertical cylindrical axis (102) is rotatably mounted at the centralposition on the back side of the main body (93) and an axis (103) isrotatably inserted in the cylindrical axis (102). The upper end andlower end portions of the cylindrical axis (102) protrude from the uppersurface of the main body (93) and the lower surface of a plate (96),respectively, and these upper and lower projected end portions areprovided with L-shaped arms (104) and (105), respectively, on the sameside. Further, the upper end and lower end portions of the axis (103)projects from the upper and lower ends of the cylindrical axis (102),respectively. These upper and the lower projected portions are providedwith L-shaped arms (106) and (107), respectively, which are formedsymmetrically with respect to the above-mentioned L-shaped arms (104)and (105). Therefore, the arms (104) and (105) as well as the arms (106)and (107) are integrally operated by the cylindrical axis (102) and theaxis (103), respectively. Thus they support in pairs the paper container(A) on three outer side walls of the paper container (A). At the freeends of the respective arms (104) to (107), there are provided supportpawls (104a), (105a), (106a) and (107a) for supporting the other sidewalls of the paper container (A).

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, the lower pair of arms (105) and (107) areprovided at the corners thereof with vertical pins (108). At oppositeunder side ends of the plate (96), pins (109) are attached. Tensionsprings (110) are disposed between the pairs of pins (108) and (109).With this constitution, the spring action by one spring (110) is appliedto the arm (105) and the arm (104) that is integrally connected by thecylindrical axis (102) are turned counterclockwise around thecylindrical axis (102) in FIG. 16. The spring action of the other spring(110) is applied to the arm (107) and the arm (103) that is integrallyconnected by the axis (103) are urged clockwise around the axis (103) inFIG. 16. Therefore, the arms (104) to (107) and the supporting pawls(104a) and (107a) are generally adapted to hold the paper container (A)therein.

On the other hand, the lower ends of the pins (108) that are disposed onthe pair of lower arms (105) and (107) project downward passing freelythrough holes (111) which are formed in the plate (98) and thesupporting plate (99) to avoid the interference with them. Eachprojected end of the pins (108) is rotatably provided with roller (112).As especially shown in FIG. 17, the rollers (112) engage with long holes(114) which are formed in opposite ends of a movable plate (113). Thisplate (113) and an oblong slider (115) integral therewith are moved in adirection perpendicular to the line passing through the rollers (112) toturn the arms (104) to (107) and the supporting pawls (104a) to (107a)in a direction opposite to the action of the spring (110), therebyreleasing the grasp of the paper container (A) by the arms and pawls. Onthe supporting plate (99), there is secured guides (116) for guidingboth sides of the slider (115). The respective guides (116) have grooves(117) to avoid the interference with the movable plate (113). A plate(118) for supporting the slider (115) is secured on the under surface ofa pair of guides (116). At a suitable position of the plate (118), along hole (119) is formed along the moving direction of the slider(115). A pin (120) which is fixed to the slider (115) is protrudeddownward through the long hole (119) and its projected end is providedwith a cam follower (121). Further, a plate (122) disposed at the frontends of the guides (116) and the plate (118) is provided with a stopperbolt (123). By adjusting the projecting length of this stopper bolt(123) toward the slider (115), it is possible to set a position wherethe slider (115) is stopped in contact with the stopper bolt (123). Thatis, the position to hold the paper container (A) by the above-mentionedarms (104) to (107), can be adjusted.

Furthermore, a pair of brackets (124) is integrally formed on the backsurface of the main body (93). Between these brackets (124), ahorizontal pin (125) is attached for permitting the main body (93) toincline around the above-mentioned pin (94). A pair of verticallymovable rods (127) is fixed to the rotary disc (81) and to a ring-likerotary plate (126) that is formed integrally under this disc (81) on therear side of the main body (93) (see FIG. 16). A connecting member (128)is secured to the upper ends of both the rods (127). This connectingmember (128) has a horizontal groove (129) in the end face on the sideof the main body (93). The above-mentioned pin (125) of the main body(93) engages with this horizontal groove (129). A tension spring (131)is provided through a hole (130) formed in the rotary disc (81) betweenthe connecting member (128) and the rotary plate (126). The springcauses the connecting member (128) to contact with the rotary disc (81)as shown in an imaginary line in FIG. 13. In this condition, the pin(125) engaging with the connecting member (128) is moved down, thereforethe main body (93) is turned around the pins (94) which connect it tothe rotary disc (81) to bring the slant surface (1) having the opening(2) of the grasped paper container (A) into horizontal state. Accordingto the present invention, if an intersection of a vertical plane (V)between both the slant surfaces (1) of the paper container (A) and anaxis (X) vertical to the slant surface (1) and passing through thecenter of the opening (2) is taken as (Y), it is preferred that the pin(94) of the rotary fulcrum of the main body (93) extends along ahorizontal line which passes the vertical plane (V) and the intersection(Y). A supporting plate (132) is fixed between the lower ends of therods (127), and a cam follower (133) is disposed in the middle of thesupporting plate (132).

As will be understood from the foregoing description, the main body (93)of the container retaining mechanism (84) takes a vertical position inthe rotating range from the position where the paper container (A) fixedwith the faucet (B) approaches the star wheel (89) on the discharge sideto the position where a new paper container is fed from the star wheel(19) on the feed side. The arms (104) to (107) and the supporting pawls(104a) to (107a) are in a releasing condition in the same range. Forthis reason, the cam member (134) in FIG. 12 for setting up the mainbody (93) by engaging with the cam follower (133) and the cam member(135) for releasing the arms (104) to (107) by engaging with the camfollower (121) are disposed only within the above-mentioned range.

More particularly, when both the cam followers (133) and (121) engagewith the cam members (134) and (135), respectively, the main body (93)is inclined by the action of the spring (131), and the arms (104) to(107) and the supporting pawls (104a) to (107a) grasp the papercontainer (A) by the action of the spring (110). When the papercontainer retaining mechanism (84) in this condition approaches the starwheel (89) on the discharge side, the cam follower (133) first engageswith the cam member (134) and the rod (127) and the connecting member(128) are raised by a predetermined distance against the force of thespring (131). By this action, the pin (125) engaging with the connectingmember (128) is caused to rise and thus the main body (93) is turneduntil it takes a vertical position. An adjusting bolt (136) disposed onthe rotary plate (126) is so adjusted that, when the main body (93)takes an accurately vertical position, the bolt (136) comes into contactwith the back surface of the integral plate (98).

As the main body (93) takes the vertical position in this way, the camfollower (121) engages with the cam member (135) which is disposed onthe locus of the cam follower (121) in this condition, and the slider(115) and the movable plate (113) are moved inward in the radialdirection of the rotary disc (81). The grasp to the paper container (A)by means of the arms (104) to (107) and the supporting pawls (104a) to(107a) is released, and each paper container (A) that is applied withthe faucet (B) is discharged onto the conveyor (90) by the star wheel(89) on the discharge side. The empty paper container retainingmechanism (84) having no paper container (A) approaches, in thiscondition, the star wheel (19) on the feed side, and it receives a newpaper container (A) from the star wheel (19). As soon as the papercontainer (A) is led into the paper container retaining mechanism (84),the cam follower (121) is moved outward in the radial direction of therotary disc (81) by the cam profile of the cam member (135) and theaction of the tension spring (110). The arms (104) to (107) and thesupporting pawls (104a) to (107a) grasp the paper container (A) with thetension of the spring (110).

When the arms (104) to (107) hold the new paper container (A), theengagement between the cam follower (121) and the cam member (135) isreleased. When the rotation proceeds, the cam member (134) causes thecam follower (133), the rod (127) and the connecting member (128) todescend, and thereby the main body (93) is inclined to bring the slantsurface (1) having the opening (2) of the paper container (A) intohorizontal state. After that, the paper container retaining mechanism(84) and the paper container (A) are moved round in the slanting state,until they are made upright in the vicinity of the star wheel (89) onthe discharge side.

Further, the faucet retaining mechanism (85) has a hollow movable rod(140) which is vertically movable relative to the two upper rotary discs(82) and (83). As shown in FIG. 18, the movable rod (140) is providedwith a bracket (141) which has a cam follower (142). A guide rod (143)shown in FIG. 18 is secured between the two rotary discs (82) and (83)in parallel to the movable rod (140). A pair of parallel projections(144) that are formed on the bracket (141) is brought into frictionalcontact with the guide rod (143) in order to prevent the bracket (141)from rotating around the movable rod (140). The above-mentioned camfollower (142) engages with a cam groove (146) of a cylindrical cammember (145) that is attached to the stationary shaft (80), between thetwo rotary discs (82) and (83).

As shown in FIG. 19, the faucet retaining mechanism at the lower end ofthe movable rod (140) has a retaining member (147), the upper portion ofwhich is slidably inserted into the axial bore of the movable rod (140).Between the retaining member (147) and the movable rod (140) is disposeda compression spring (148). The lower end of a cylindrical coveringmember (149) for covering this spring (148) is screwed to the retainingmember (147). The upper end thereof is slidably disposed on the outerperiphery of the movable rod (140). The movable rod (140) is providedwith a stopper ring (150), by which the downward slipping off can beavoided. The supporting member (147) has a hole (151) in the bottomsurface for receiving the cap member (4) of the faucet (B). The hole(151) is provided around the periphery thereof with a ring-like groove(152) connecting to the hole (151) except three coupling portions(147a), as shown in FIG. 20. In the ring-like groove (152), there isprovided a coil spring (153) which is made endless by connecting bothends. This coil spring (153) is usually stretched straight between therespective connecting portions (147a), and each straight portionprotrudes in the hole (151) (indicated by dash lines in FIG. 20). Whenthe cap member (4) of the faucet (B) is inserted into the hole (151),the coil spring (153) in the hole (151) comes into contact with theperipheral surface of the cap member (4) to retain the faucet (B).

The axial portion of the retaining member (147) is formed with a hollowregion (154), and a stationary rod (155) is slidably inserted into thehollow region (154). The upper end of the stationary rod (155) passesthrough the movable rod (140) and is secured to the rotary plate (156)that is attached to the rotary disc (83), as shown in FIG. 12. The levelof the bottom of the stationary rod (155) is so set that when the faucetretaining mechanism (85) takes the highest position between both thestar wheels (19) and (89), the stationary rod (155) may project into thehole (151) to push off the faucet (B) if it still remains there.

Although the movable rod (140) of the faucet retaining mechanism (85)moves only vertically, the operating rod (87) for supporting the heater(86) can move vertically and rotate. As shown in FIG. 12, the operatingrod (87) is provided with a bracket (161), and the latter is providedwith a cam follower (162) in order to make it possible to movevertically. The constitution of this bracket (161) is basically the sameas that of the bracket (141) for the movable rod (140). Also in the caseof this bracket (161), a free rotation is blocked by a guide rod, andthe above-mentioned cam follower (162) engages with a cam member (163).As described above, since the operating rod (87) must be rotatable, itis made rotatable relative to the bracket (161). For this purpose, forexample, a ring-like groove around the periphery of the operating rod(87) is formed and a pin or a cam follower disposed on the bracket (161)is engaged with the ring-like groove.

On the top of the operating rod (87), the middle portion of anapproximately L-shaped lever (164) is fixed. This lever (164) isprovided on an upper end with a cam follower (165) and on the otherlower end with a pin (166). Further, a tension spring (168) is disposedbetween the pin (166) and the other pin (167) which is stood on theupper surface of the rotary disc (83). The cam follower (165) is broughtinto contact with a cylindrical cam member (169) by the action of thespring (168). This cam member (169) is supported by a stationary frame(170) fixed outside the rotary body (22) and, of course, the cam surfaceof the cam member (169) is designed taking the vertical movements of theoperating rod (87) into consideration.

The heater (86) fixed to the lower end of the operating rod (87) by thearm (88) comprises a main body (171) of an oblong insulating material,as will be understood from FIGS. 19 and 21. The tip of the arm (88) isput on one side of the upper face of the main body (171) and they arefixed to each other by bolts, not shown. On the other side of the upperface of the main body (171) is fixed a heating element (172) for heatingthe faucet (B) and the adhesive portion (7) with interposing aninsulating plate (173). The heating element (172) is prepared bypunching a flat electrically resistant material into a predeterminedshape, and it comprises a ring-like portion (174) and connectingportions (175) on both the sides thereof. The center of the ring-likeportion (174) is formed in conformity with the shape of the adhesiveportion (7) of the faucet (B). The ring-like portion (174) is providedin the middle portion thereof with a stepped column-like spacer member(176) for making a certain space between the adhesive portion (7) andthe heating element (172), with being in contact with the faucet (B).

The bottom surface of the main body (171) is provided with a heatingelement (177) with interposing therebetween an insulating plate (178)for heating the periphery of the opening (2) formed in the slant surface(1) of the paper container (A). This heating element (177) has in thecenter thereof a ring or disc portion (179) which is about the same asthe above-mentioned ring-like portion (174) in size. Further, it hasconnecting portions (180) on both sides of the disc portion (179) whichprojects downward from the connecting portions (180).

A pair of the heating elements (172) and (177) disposed on the upper andlower surfaces of the main body (171) is secured to the main body (171)by pairs of bolts (181) and nuts (182) and the axes of the ring-likeportion (174) and the disc member (179) coincide with each other.Between the disc portion (179) of the lower heating element (177) andthe main body (171), there is interposed a columnar supporting member(183) which approximately coincides with the peripheral shape of thedisc portion. The screw portion of the supporting member (183) isbrought into engagement with a screw portion (184) of the spaceretaining member (176) to simultaneously secure the supporting member(183) and the space retaining member (176) to the main body (171).Further, the nut members (182) are made in the form of a rectangularparallelepiped and the bottom faces of them are contact surfaces (185)for contacting with the slant surface (1) of the paper container (A). Acertain space is left between the contact surfaces (185) and the bottomsurface of the disc portion (179) of the heating element (177).

The two bolts (181) are utilized as electrical conductor leading to thelower heating element (177), and the latter is connected to a powersource by way of both the bolts (181) and conductive lines (186)attached to the upper portions thereof. On the other hand, the upperheating element (172) is insulated from the bolts (181) by means ofinsulating cylindrical bodies (187) each mounted on the periphery of thebolt (181) and is connected to the power source by the conductors (188)and conductor lines (189). These conductor lines (189) are disposedbetween a plurality of insulators (190) mounted around the peripheriesof the insulating cylindrical bodies (187), thereby being insulated fromthe conductive lines (186). The conductors (188) electrically connectthe conductive lines (189) to the heating element (172). It is naturalthat each pair of the conductive lines (186) and (189) are connected tothe power source by a conventionally known rotary type connectingmechanism so as to avoid twisting by the rotation of the rotator (22).If desired, a passage for cooling water may be formed in the main body(171) or in nuts (182) to cool it.

As described above, the paper container retaining mechanism (84)receives the paper container (A) from the star wheel (19) on the feedside and grasps and inclines it to bring the slant surface (1) intohorizontal position. At this phase, the faucet retaining mechanism (85)right above the opening (2) in the slant surface (1), already holds afaucet (B). That is, when approaching the faucet delivering position(P), the faucet retaining mechanism (85) is moved down along the locusof the cam groove (146) of the cam member (145), and at the position(P), the cap member (4) of the faucet (B) on the supporting rest (71) ofthe faucet forwarding disc (26) is caused to engage with the hole (151)of the supporting member (147), thereby retaining the faucet (B) thereinby the coil spring (153) in the supporting member (147). Just before thefaucet retaining mechanism (85) grasps the faucet (B), the faucetreceiving member (67) for supporting the adhesive portions (7) of thefaucet (B) on the supporting rest (71), is moved down by the cam member(74) to release the support of the adhesive portion (7). Therefore, thefaucet retaining mechanism (85) smoothly receives the faucet (B) on thesupporting rest (71). During this operation, the heater (86) lies at aretreat position which is distant from the axis of the faucet retainingmechanism (85) and inside the rotator (22) (see FIG. 3).

When the paper container (A) is inclined, and the opening (2) and thefaucet (B) confront with each other with leaving a predetermined spacetherebetween, the heater (86) is turned from the retreat position by therotation of the operating rod (87) and the arm (88) that is caused bythe cam member (169), and it is inserted into the space between theopening (2) and the faucet (B). Then, the heater (86) moves down inaccordance with the downward movement of the operating rod (87) and thearm (88) by the cam member (163). The contact surface (185) of the nutmember (182) is brought into light contact with the slant surface (1) ofthe paper container (A) as shown in FIG. 19. Thus, the disc portion(179) of the lower heating element (177) approaches the portion of thepaper container (A) to be heated, leaving a suitable space therebetween.Simultaneously with the descending of the heater (86), the faucetretaining mechanism (85) is also moved down and it stops in thecondition that the faucet (B) is in contact with the space retainingmember (176) of the heater (86) which has already been stopped. As aresult, the adhesive portion (7) of the faucet (B) also comes face toface with the ring-like portion (174) of the upper heating element (172)with leaving a suitable space therebetween.

The upper and lower heating elements (172) and (177) are connected tothe power source always during the operation of the rotator (22),alternatively, they are energized through a detecting switch, not shown,when they are shifted from the retreat position to its operatingposition. As a result, the paper container (A) and the faucet (B) areheated to their respective optimum temperatures. When both the faucetretaining mechanism (85) and the heater (86) are moved upward, theheater (86) is separated far from the paper container (A) and the faucet(B) and is finally returned to its retreat position, and it waits atthis retreat position until a next new paper container is fed. As soonas the heater (86) is retreated, the faucet retaining mechanism (85) ismoved down again, and the adhesive portion (7) of the faucet (B) ispressed against a predetermined point of the slant surface (1) of thepaper container (A) to cause them to adhere with each other.

Thereafter, the faucet retaining mechanism (85) is moved up again, andthe faucet (B) is drawn out of the hole (151) of the retaining member(147) against the action of the coil spring (153) by the adhesive forcebetween the faucet (B) and the paper container (A). The empty faucetretaining mechanism (85) reaches a maximum height between both the starwheels (19) and (89), and it is moved down to hold a new faucet (B). Atthis highest position, as described above, the stationary rod (155)projects into the hole (151), and if a faucet (B) still remains thereowing to the absence of a paper container (A), or owing to no electriccurrent in the heating element (172) or else, the faucet (B) is forcedto drop off the hole (151) and the grasp of a next new faucet (B)becomes ready. The paper container (A) in which the attachment of afaucet (B) has been accomplished in this way, is caused to stand andreleased from the grasp, as mentioned above. It is then discharged ontothe conveyor (90) by the star wheel (89) on the discharge side.

The faucet mounting apparatus of the illustrated embodiment ispreferably designed for the paper container (A) and the faucet (B) shownin FIG. 1, but may suitably be modified in conformity with other papercontainers and faucets to be used. For example, in the case that thecutout (5) of a faucet (B) is omitted, the adjustment of the directionof the faucet (B) is not required, thus the positioning mechanism (24)may be omitted. Further if a paper container has no slant surface (1)and its upper surface is flat, the parts of the paper containerretaining mechanism (84), at least the mechanism for inclining, isneedless. In such a case, if desired, the arms (104) to (107) and thelike may be omitted. On the other hand, even if a paper container (A)has a slant surface (1), the mechanism for inclining it may be omitted.In this case, however, the faucet retaining mechanism (84) must be sodisposed on the rotator (22) as to be perpendicular to the slant surface(1) and to move on a line passing the axis of the opening (2).Furthermore, although the heating elements are used in theabove-mentioned embodiment, high-frequency heating or ultrasonic heatingmay be employed in conformity with properties of a resin coating of apaper container and a synthetic resin to form the faucet.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, according to the method and the apparatus of thepresent invention, it is possible to prepare a paper container which canbe opened easily and, after opening, which can be closed easily andtightly.

I claim:
 1. An apparatus for affixing a faucet on a container, whereinthe faucet and the container have surfaces which can be bonded togetherby heat welding, comprising: a stationary base; a first, rotary discmounted on said base for rotation about a vertical axis; a series ofcontainer-holding mechanisms mounted in circumferentially spacedpositions on said first disc, each of said container-holding mechanismscomprising an upright, main body of substantially U-shaped cross sectionfor holding a container therein, pivot means supporting said main bodyfor pivotal movement about a horizontal axis extending transverselythrough the upper portion of said main body, and means for effectingpivotal locations of said container-holding mechanisms at selectedlocations as said first disc is rotated with respect to said base;second and third discs mounted on said base for rotation about saidvertical axis and disposed above said first disc, said second disc beingdisposed directly above said container-holding mechanisms on said firstdisc, a series of faucet-holding mechanisms mounted on said second andthird discs for vertical sliding movement with respect thereto, each ofsaid faucet-holding mechanisms being associated with one of saidcontainer-holding mechanisms, said faucet-holding mechanisms beingdisposed below the lower surface of said second disc and being opposedto the upper ends of said container-holding mechanisms; a series ofheaters mounted on said second and third discs for pivotal movementabout a vertical axis and for vertical sliding movement, each of saidheaters being associated with one of said container-holding mechanismsand one of said faucet-holding mechanisms, each of said heaterscomprising a main heater body and first and second heating elementsmounted on opposite sides of said main heater body, said first heatingelement facing downwardly toward its associated container-holdingmechanism and being effective for heating a surface of a container heldin that container-holding mechanism, said second heating element facingupwardly toward its associated faucet-holding mechanism and beingeffective for heating a surface of a faucet held in that faucet-holdingmechanism; cooperating cam tracks on said base and cam follower means onsaid container-holding mechanisms, said faucet-holding mechanism and onsaid heaters so that as said discs rotate in unison with each other withrespect to said stationary base, the surfaces of the faucet and thecontainer in each of the work stations will be heated by said first andsecond heating elements, then said first and second heating elementswill be moved out of the way and then the heated surface of the faucetwill be pressed against the heated surface of a container whereby tofuse the surfaces together.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 inwhich each of said container-holding mechanisms comprises arms pivotallymounted for movement between a first position in which they extendacross the open side of said main body for releasably retaining thecontainer therein, and a second position in which they are disposedoutside of said main body, and, means responsive to rotation of saidfirst disc for moving said arms between said first and second positions.3. An apparatus for affixing a faucet on a container, wherein the faucetand the container have surfaces which can be bonded together by heatwelding, comprising: a stationary base; a first, rotary disc mounted onsaid base for rotation about a vertical axis; a series ofcontainer-holding mechanisms mounted in circumferentially spacedpositions on said first disc, each of said container-holding mechanismscomprising an upright, main body for holding a container therein; secondand third discs mounted on said base for rotation about said verticalaxis and disposed above said first disc, said second disc being disposeddirectly above said container-holding mechanisms on said first disc, aseries of faucet-holding mechanisms mounted on said second and thirddiscs for vertical sliding movement with respect thereto, each of saidfaucet-holding mechanisms being associated with one of saidcontainer-holding mechanisms, said faucet-holding mechanisms beingdisposed below the lower surface of said second disc and being opposedto the upper ends of said container-holding mechanisms; a series ofheaters mounted on said second and third discs for pivotal movementabout a vertical axis and for vertical sliding movement, each of saidheaters being associated with one of said container-holding mechanismsand one of said faucet-holding mechanisms, each of said heaters heatingcomprising a main heater body and first and second, heating elementsmounted on opposite sides of said main heater body, said first heatingelement facing downwardly toward its associated container-holdingmechanism and being effective for heating a surface of a container heldin that container-holding mechanism, said second heating element facingupwardly toward its associated faucet-holding mechanism and beingeffective for heating a surface of a faucet held in that faucet-holdingmechanism; cooperating cam tracks on said base and cam follower means onsaid container-holding mechanisms, said faucet-holding mechanisms andsaid heaters so that as said discs rotate in unison with each other withrespect to said stationary base, the surfaces of the faucet and thecontainer in each of the work stations will be heated by said first andsecond heating elements, then said first and second heating elementswill be moved out of the way and then the heated surface of the faucetwill be pressed against the heated surface of a container whereby tofuse the surfaces together.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 3, inwhich the container has an inclined surface at the upper end thereof,and including means supporting each of said container-holding mechanismsfor movement from an upright position in which the inclined surface ofthe container is disposed at an angle with respect to the horizontal, toan inclined position wherein the inclined surface of the container issubstantially horizontal.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 3,including a pair of contact members which project in the same directionaway from said first heating element and are adapted to contact thesurface of the container on opposite sides of the portion thereof thatis to be heated, said contact members projecting outwardly relative tosaid first heating element so as to maintain a space between said firstheating element and the portion of the surface of the container that isto be heated.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 3 or claim 14, in whichsaid second heating element comprises a ring-like portion for heating acorrespondingly ring-shaped portion of the surface of the faucet, and aretaining member projecting outwardly from the center of said ring-likeportion of said second heating element, said retaining member beingadapted to contact the surface of the faucet in order to maintain aselected spacing between the ring-like portion of the surface of thefaucet and said second heating element.
 7. An apparatus according toclaim 3 or claim 4, in which the faucets have engaging portions fordetermining the direction of the faucet, and including faucet-feedingmeans for feeding faucets to the faucet-holding mechanisms, saidfaucet-feeding means comprising a rotator mechanism for rotating thefaucets around their axes, and an engaging pawl for engaging theengaging portions of the faucets so as to stop rotation of the faucetswhen the engaging portions of the faucets are oriented in apredetermined direction.